Asked by: Mark Garnier (Conservative - Wyre Forest)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps the Government is taking to promote the UK as a place for international investment in digital assets.
Answered by Tulip Siddiq - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The government is taking a range of steps to promote digital asset adoption. This includes initiatives such as the recently announced Digital Gilt Instrument, or DIGIT, and the new Digital Securities Sandbox, which opened in September.
Innovation and technology is also one of our five core policy pillars in our Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness strategy, which forms part of the government’s wider industrial strategy.
Asked by: Mark Garnier (Conservative - Wyre Forest)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department has had discussions with the Financial Conduct Authority on regulation of digital assets.
Answered by Tulip Siddiq - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
HM Treasury works closely with the regulators, including the Financial Conduct Authority, on digital assets regulation. This includes the recent opening of the Digital Securities Sandbox, legislated for by HM Treasury and jointly operated by the Bank of England and the Financial Conduct Authority, and the forthcoming regulatory regime for cryptoassets.
Asked by: Mark Garnier (Conservative - Wyre Forest)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps the Government is taking to increase access to EU markets for UK collective Investment in transferable securities schemes; and what steps her Department is taking to help promote UK funds given their classification as alternative investment funds under EU rules.
Answered by Tulip Siddiq - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The UK has granted market access to certain retail funds from the European Economic Area under the Overseas Funds Regime. Decisions regarding market access for UK firms or products into the European Union are an autonomous decision for the European Union. The government has committed to reset the UK’s relationship with the European Union through strengthening ties, securing a broad-based security pact, and improving conditions for trade and investment. This recognises the inter-connectedness of our markets and ensures that our approach to financial services supports growth and delivers investment.
Ministers and officials at HM Treasury continue to engage regularly with the European Union and Governments in other jurisdictions, including through Economic and Financial Dialogues, to address barriers to UK financial services products being marketed abroad, and to promote the UK’s world-leading financial services sector.
Asked by: Mark Garnier (Conservative - Wyre Forest)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of the removal of the investment allowance on the amount of (a) oil and (b) gas extracted from the North Sea in the next five years.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
At Autumn Budget 2024 the government confirmed that from 1 November 2024, the Energy Profits Levy (EPL) rate would increase by 3 percentage points to 38%, the EPL investment allowance would be abolished and the EPL decarbonisation allowance rate would be adjusted to 66%. The government also confirmed an extension to the period the levy applies from 31 March 2029 until 31 March 2030. To support jobs in future and existing industries, the government decided to make no additional changes to the availability of capital allowances in the EPL.
The government has carefully considered the impact of the removal of the EPL’s investment allowance. HM Treasury publishes impacts in summary form for tax measures in tax information and impact notes (TIINs) alongside the Finance Bill. The summary of impacts from these changes to the EPL can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/energy-profits-levy-reforms-2024
Asked by: Mark Garnier (Conservative - Wyre Forest)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will take steps with Cabinet colleagues to require the Bank of England to (a) take account of climate change in its mandates and (b) publish a timetable for doing this.
Answered by Tulip Siddiq - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
Tackling climate change is a key part of this Government’s agenda, reflected in our Mission to make Britain a clean energy superpower. We recognise the significant risks posed by climate change to the financial system and wider economy, and are committed to transitioning the economy to Net Zero by 2050 and realising the growth potential of doing so.
In opposition, we set out our plans to reverse changes made by the previous Government to downgrade the importance of climate change in the Bank of England’s mandates. We remain committed to making this change and will do so in due course – the Government is required to issue new remit letters for the Bank of England’s Financial Policy Committee (FPC) and Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) each year.
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Asked by: Mark Garnier (Conservative - Wyre Forest)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate she has made of the potential impact of the ban on new oil and gas licences on taxation revenues to (a) 2030, (b) 2035, (c) 2040, (d) 2045 and (e) 2050.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The government will consult later this year on the implementation of its manifesto position not to issue new oil and gas licences to explore new fields.
Forecasts for oil and gas tax revenues are published by the Office for Budget Responsibility.
Asked by: Mark Garnier (Conservative - Wyre Forest)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent estimate his Department has made of the amount of income tax that was lost due to tax fraud by builders in the repair, maintenance and improvement sector in the last 12 months.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) estimates the tax gap, which will encompass fraud, for all taxes including VAT, Corporation Tax and Income Tax. However, HMRC does not make a separate estimate of the amount of fraud within the tax gap nor is it not possible to subdivide these tax gap estimates into fraud by builders in the repair, maintenance and improvement sector in the last 12 months.
Tax gap estimates for VAT, Income Tax and Corporation Tax for tax year 2021-2022 are available in chapters 2, 4 and 5, respectively, of HMRC’s publication Measuring tax gaps 2023 edition. An illustrative breakdown of the tax gap by customer behaviour is available in chapter 7. This report is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/measuring-tax-gaps.
Asked by: Mark Garnier (Conservative - Wyre Forest)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent estimate his Department has made of the amount of corporation tax that was lost due to tax fraud by builders in the repair, maintenance and improvement sector in the last 12 months.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) estimates the tax gap, which will encompass fraud, for all taxes including VAT, Corporation Tax and Income Tax. However, HMRC does not make a separate estimate of the amount of fraud within the tax gap nor is it not possible to subdivide these tax gap estimates into fraud by builders in the repair, maintenance and improvement sector in the last 12 months.
Tax gap estimates for VAT, Income Tax and Corporation Tax for tax year 2021-2022 are available in chapters 2, 4 and 5, respectively, of HMRC’s publication Measuring tax gaps 2023 edition. An illustrative breakdown of the tax gap by customer behaviour is available in chapter 7. This report is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/measuring-tax-gaps.
Asked by: Mark Garnier (Conservative - Wyre Forest)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent estimate his Department has made of the amount of VAT that was lost due to tax fraud by builders in the repair, maintenance and improvement sector in the last 12 months.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) estimates the tax gap, which will encompass fraud, for all taxes including VAT, Corporation Tax and Income Tax. However, HMRC does not make a separate estimate of the amount of fraud within the tax gap nor is it not possible to subdivide these tax gap estimates into fraud by builders in the repair, maintenance and improvement sector in the last 12 months.
Tax gap estimates for VAT, Income Tax and Corporation Tax for tax year 2021-2022 are available in chapters 2, 4 and 5, respectively, of HMRC’s publication Measuring tax gaps 2023 edition. An illustrative breakdown of the tax gap by customer behaviour is available in chapter 7. This report is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/measuring-tax-gaps.
Asked by: Mark Garnier (Conservative - Wyre Forest)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent steps his Department has taken to help support the financial services sector.
Answered by John Glen
The Edinburgh Reforms, launched by the Chancellor on 9 December, take forward the government’s ambition for an open, sustainable, and technologically advanced financial services sector that is globally competitive and acts in the interests of communities and citizens across all four nations of the UK. These reforms build on the work the government is already taking forward through the Financial Services and Markets Bill and the reforms to Solvency II announced at the Autumn Statement.